CENTRAL  AMERICA 


TRANSIT  BETWEEN  THE  OCEANS 


TC 

773 


X 


•. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA 


AND    THE 


TRANSIT  BETWEEN  THE  OCEANS. 


BY 


MARMADUKE  B.  SAMPSON. 


REPRINTED  FROM  THE  WESTMINSTER  REVIEW, 

FOR    APRIL,    1850. 


NEW  YORK : 

S.  W.  BENEDICT,  No.  16  SPRUCE  STREET. 
1850. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA 

AND    THE 

TRANSIT  BETWEEN  THE    OCEANS. 


NUMBERLESS  signs  denote  that  Central  America  will 
henceforth  be  the  theatre  of  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
changes  to  be  wrought  by  advancing  civilization.  Three 
years  back  its  capabilities  and  distinctive  features  were  almost 
wholly  unknown  to  the  general  public ;  and  such  volumes  as 
existed  with  regard  to  them,  were  read  with  no  more  active 
interest  than  would  have  been  excited  by  travels  in  Persia  or 
Dalmatia,  or  any  other  country  with  whom  the  chances  of 
our  establishing  an  immediate  and  vital  intercourse  might  be 
most  remote.  Now,  however,  there  is  no  quarter  of  the  world 
to  which  attention  is  more  actively  directed.  Statesmen, 
merchants,  navigators,  colonizers,  and  the  students  of  natural 
science,  are  all  alike  awakened  to  the  importance  of  its  future 
prospects ;  and,  as  a  consequence  of  the  demand  thus  creat 
ed,  books  and  maps  are  supplied  by  our  geographical  publish- 
ers,  involving  an  amount  of  minute  detail,  which  enables  us, 
we  may  believe,  to  form  a  far  more  accurate  knowledge  of 
each  point  of  the  territory,  than  is  possessed  by  one  out  of  a 
hundred,  even  amongst  the  most  intelligent  of  its  natives. 

Until  now,  notwithstanding  the  almost  solemn  charm  that 
has  invariably  been  felt  in  its  contemplation,  the  idea  of  a 


communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  has  never 
been  anything  more  than  an  interesting  engineering  prob 
lem.  That  it  could  be  effected  without  any  serious  difficulty, 
has,  however,  in  the  face  of  appearances  to  the  contrary,  for 
many  years  been  placed  beyond  all  real  doubt ;  and  the  actu 
al  point  in  which  projectors  have  failed,  has  been  simply  in 
convincing  the  capitalist  that  it  would  pay.  Appealed  to  on 
the  strength  of  sublime  estimates  of  the  influences  of  the  en 
terprise  on  the  destinies  of  the  world,  unaccompanied  by 
any  data  on  which  reliance  could  be  placed  with  regard  to 
the  per  centage  in  the  shape  of  future  receipts,  men  of  busi 
ness  could  not  be  warmed  into  enthusiasm.  In  reply,  there 
fore,  they  have  always  professed  a  fear  of  its  impracticability  ; 
and,  as  this  was  stimulated  by  the  circumstance  of  each  pro 
jector  abusing  the  routes  proposed  by  his  rivals,  it  at  last  be 
came  a  received  belief.  They  saw  all  the  glory  of  the  pro 
ject;  would  be  willing  to  run  all  necessary  risk  for  its 
consummation;  but  the  thing  was  impossible.  With  a 
demonstrable  dividend  before  them,  every  shadow  in  the 
shape  of  a  mechanical  difficulty  would  have  disappeared. 

But  the  discovery  of  California  has  now  settled  the  ques 
tion  of  a  profitable  result ;  and,  in  a  much  shorter  lime  than 
most  persons  in  England  are  even  yet  prepared  to  expect, 
not  merely  a  communication,  but  a  choice  of  communica 
tions,  is  certain  to  be  opened  up.  These  will  be  respectively 
at  Panama  and  Nicaragua ;  the  former  by  railway  and  steam, 
boat  in  the  first  instance,  and  ultimately  by  railway  entirely  ; 
the  latter,  chiefly  by  steam-boat  in  the  first  instance,  and  ulti 
mately  by  a  complete  canal  both  for  steam-boats  and  sailing- 
vessels. 

The  Panama  line  is  promoted  by  Rowland  and  Aspinwall, 
of  New  York.  It  is  to  consist  of  a  railway  from  Navy  Bay 


on  the  Atlantic  to  Panama  on  the  Pacific,  at  an  estimated 
cost  of  $5,000,000,  or  £1,000,000  sterling.     At  the  com 
mencement,  however,  a  portion  of  the  road,  consisting  of 
about  twenty-two  miles  on  the  Pacific  side  (from  Panama  to 
Gorgona),  will  be  constructed  and  put  into  operation,  and  the 
rest  of  the  transit  will  be  effected  by  steamers  running  forty- 
five  miles  on  the  Chagres  river,  which  is  navigable  at  all 
periods  of  the  year  for  vessels  of  light  draught.     The  work, 
it  is  estimated,  may  thus  far  be  completed  for  £200,000,  and 
the  shareholders  will  be  in  the  receipt  of  revenue  while  the 
remainder  is  being  constructed.     The  full  capital  for  this 
portion  has  been  subscribed  at  New  York;  the  entire  line 
has  been  surveyed,  and  the   grading  of  the  distance  from 
Panama  to  Gorgona  already  contracted  for  at  the  price  of 
$400,000,  (£80,000),  which  is  within  the  original  estimate. 
The  grant  to  the  Company  by  the  Republic  of  New  Grenada 
gives  them  an  exclusive  privilege  for  forty-nine  years,  sub 
ject  to  a  right  of  redemption  by  the  Republic  at  the  end  of 
twenty  years,  on  payment  of  $5,000,000 ;  at  the  end  of  thirty 
years  on  payment  of  $4,000,000;   and  at  the  end  of  forty 
years  on  payment  of  82,000,000.     This  privilege  is  to  date 
from  the  completion  of  the  road,  for  which  eight  years  are 
allowed ;  and  it  is  accompanied  by  a  concession  of  exclusive 
harbour  rights  at  the  ports  on  each  side,  and  also  of  the 
necessary  land  throughout  the  line,  besides  300,000  acres  in 
perpetuity,  for  the  purposes  of  colonization.     The  Company 
are  likewise  to  be  allowed  to  import  iron  and  whatever  may 
be  necessary  for  the  construction  of  the  road,  free  of  duty, 
including  all  articles  of  provision  and  clothing  for  the  work 
men.     They  may  also  call  upon  the  Government  to  furnish 
them  the  assistance  of  three  companies  of  sappers ;  and  the 
only  obligation  imposed  as  to  the  character  of  the  road,  is 


that  it  shall  be  capable  of  transporting  passengers  and  mer 
chandise  from  one  ocean  to  the  other  in  the  space  of  twelve 
hours. 

The  parties  by  whom  the  survey  of  the  Panama  route  was 
effected,  instead  of  encountering  the  formidable  difficulties 
that  had  been  anticipated,  found  that  they  could  lay  down  a 
line  which  would  not  exceed  forty-six  miles  in  length,  with  a 
summit  of  less  than  300  feet  above  the  sea,  and  with  curva 
tures,   having   nowhere    a   radius   of   less   than   1,500   feet. 
Their  explorations  were  extended  over  the  whole  of  that  part 
of  the  Isthmus,  so  as  to  insure  the  one  true  point,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  has  now  been  selected.     Another 
difficulty  which  has  always  been  represented  as  no  less  formi 
dable  than  the  natural  impediments  of  the  route,  namely,  the 
procuring   a   proper   supply  of  laborers  able   to   stand   the 
climate,  has  also  been  proved  to  be  delusive.     The  parties 
who  have  contracted  for  the  grading  of  the  twenty-two  miles 
on  the  Pacific  side  are,  it  seems,  two  American  engineers, 
who  have  been  employed  for  the  last  five  years  in  the  State 
of  New  Grenada,  in  forming  a  canal  ninety  miles  long,  to 
connect  two  branches  of  the  Magdalena  river,  and  which 
they  have  completed  entirely  with  native  labour.     They  can 
bring  with  them  a  large  number  of  these  workmen,  whose 
training,  although  at  first  difficult,  was  ultimately  quite  suc 
cessful  ;  and  there  is  reason  also  to  believe  that  arrangements 
for  foreign  labour  might  be  made,  since  the  experience  of  the 
corps  employed  in  the  survey  of  the  railway,  consisting  of 
forty  engineers   and   assistants,  was  not  discouraging  with 
respect  to  climate. 

The  explorations  for  this  survey  have  led  to  the  discovery 
of  large  groves  of  mahogany,  and  rich  mineral  deposits, 
"  the  knowledge  of  which,"  it  is  represented,  "  will  be  highly 


important  to  the  company  in  locating  lands  under  their  grant;" 
and  with  regard  to  the  proposed  terminus  of  the  railway  on 
the  Atlantic  side,  on  the  island  of  Manzanilla,  in  Navy  Bay, 
we  have  the  following  characteristic  speculations,  which  might, 
perhaps,  be  taken  as  nothing  more  than  a  rhapsody,  were  it 
not  for  our  experience  of  the  way  in  which  these  American 
visions  are  apt  to  produce  their  own  realization. 


"  The  harbour  is  accessible  at  all  seasons,  and  with  any  wind  per 
fectly  secure,  and  capable  of  containing  300  sail.  Of  the  island, 
Mr.  Norris,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Chagres  division,  says,  '  in  ten 
years  I  predict  the  whole  will  be  covered  with  houses,  and  the  in 
habitants  enjoying  perfect  health,  with  every  luxury  of  a  southern 
clime/  He  adds,  '  I  do  consider  it  the  most  eligible  and  perfect  site 
for  a  city  of  any  size  I  have  ever  seen.'  " 


The  second  line,  which  may  now  be  considered  defini 
tively  arranged,  is  that  of  a  ship  canal  in  connexion  with  the 
lakes  of  Nicaragua.  This  work  promises  an  early  com 
mencement,  and  also  a  rapid  progress.  On  the  27th  August 
last  a  contract  was  made  between  the  State  of  Nicaragua 
and  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Ship  Canal  Company,  of  New 
York,  by  which  all  the  exclusive  privileges  necessary  for  the 
undertaking  were  conferred.  According  to  the  contract,  the 
canal  is  to  be  completed  within  twelve  years,  unless  prevented 
by  fortuitous  occurrences ;  and,  upon  failure  of  this  stipula 
tion,  such  part  as  may  have  been  constructed  is  to  be  for 
feited  to  the  State.  The  Company  agree  to  pay  the  State 
$10,000  for  the  ratification  of  the  contract;  $10,000  more 
annually  till  the  completion  of  the  work ;  and  to  make  a  do 
nation  of  their  stock  to  the  amount  of  8200,000.  When 
finished,  the  State  is  to  receive  one-fifth  of  the  net  profits  for 
twenty  years,  and  afterwards  one  quarter.  There  is  also  a 
stipulation  that  it  is  to  have  10  per  cent,  on  the  profits  of 


any  minor  line  of  communication  between  the  two  oceans 
which  the  Company  may  open  up  during  the^  time  they  are 
engaged  on  the  grand  canal.  On  the  other  hand,  the  privi 
leges  bestowed  are,  not  only  the  exclusive  rights  for  construct 
ing  the  canal,  but  also  the  exclusive  right  of  inland  steam  na 
vigation  ;  grants  likewise  are  to  be  made  of  eight  sections  of 
land  on  the  banks  of  the  canal,  each  section  to  be  six  miles 
square.  The  concession,  as  originally  proposed,  was  for 
eighty-five  years,  but  it  has  since  been  extended  in  perpe 
tuity. 

The  first  payment  of  810,000  has  already  been  made  by  the 
company  to  the  Government  of  Nicaragua ;  and  the  general 
arrangement  having  been  favourably  viewed  by  the  cabinet 
a,t  Washington,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  privileges 
which  have  been  acquired  under  it  may  now  be  regarded  as 
incapable  of  being  upset.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Barclay,  the 
British  consul  at  New  York,  has  given  notice  to  the  Com 
pany  that  in  extending  the  grant  to  the  exclusive  right  of  na 
vigating  the  river  San  Juan,  the  State  of  Nicaragua  has  en 
tered  into  an  agreement  in  regard  to  places  where  it  has  no 
competence,  since  "  the  boundary  line  of  the  Mosquito  king 
dom  touches  the  St.  John's  river,  at  the  Machuca  rapid, 
about  thirty  miles  below  the  Lake  Nicaragua,  from  whence 
to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's  the  navigation  belongs  to  Mos 
quito  ;"  but  this,  supposing  the  English  view  to  be  admitted, 
can  in  no  way  affect  the  main  privileges  they  have  obtained. 
It  would  necessitate  a  negotiation  on  their  behalf  to  obtain 
from  the  King  of  Mosquito,  or,  in  other  words,  from  the 
English  Government,  a  guarantee  of  those  rights  on  the  San 
Juan  which  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  Nicaragua  to  grant ; 
and  in  this  it  is  to  be  inferred  there  would  be  no  obstacle, 
since  it  would  be  impossible  to  refuse  the  application,  so  long 


as  the  Company  are  ready  to  bind  themselves  that  the  route, 
when  constructed,  shall  be  open,  on  fair  and  equal  terms, 
to  the  whole  world,  and  that  the  power  of  holding  its  stock 
and  of  participating  in  its  management  shall  likewise  be  free 
to  all  parties.  Indeed,  it  is  believed  that  the  question  has 
already  been  met,  both  by  Lord  Palmerston  and  Mr.  Abbott 
Lawrence,  in  a  spirit  which  will  speedily  lead  to  a  joint 
guarantee  on  the  part  of  England  and  the  United  States  of  the 
neutrality  of  the  whole  line.  As  to  political  difficulties, 
therefore,  so  far  as  the  promoters  of  the  canal  are  concerned, 
there  are  actually  none.  A  short,  although  a  vexatious  de 
lay — for  even  a  few  months'  impediment  to  such  an  under 
taking  would  be  an  evil  full  of  reproach — is  all  that  could 
arise  out  of  the  uncertainty  at  present  existing  on  these 
points.  Neither  England  nor  the  United  States  would  like 
it  to  form  a  part  of  their  history,  that  the  human  race  had 
been  kept,  for  two  or  three  or  more  years,  from  witnessing 
the  junction  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  because  their 
foreign  ministers  had  been  unable  to  adjust  a  wrangle  as  to 
whom  the  right  belonged  of  conceding  some  seventy  rniles 
of  the  now  desolate  track  through  which  the  work  would 
pass. 

In  the  projects  for  the  Nicaragua  Canal  hitherto  put  for 
ward,  the  estimated  cost  has  been  £4,000,000,  the  actual 
outlay  being  reckoned  at  £3,600,000,  and  the  remaining 
£400,000  being  allowed  for  casual  expenses.  These  calcu 
lations  were  professedly  made  on  the  high  scale  of  the  Cale 
donian  Canal,  where  the  expenditure  was  notoriously  reckless, 
and  at  a  period  when  the  mechanical  facilities  for  such  under 
takings  were  very  imperfect  as  compared  with  the  present 
time.  They  were  based,  however,  upon  the  surveys  of  Mr. 
Baily,  which  are  regarded  as  having  been  made  with  a  de- 


10 

gree  of  conscientious  care  entitling  them  to  the  highest  credit. 
Hence,  in  the  calculations  in  question,  there  are  no  existing 
points  of  engineering  difficulty  which  were  not  comprised ; 
and  it  may  accordingly  be  inferred,  that  if  they  were  under 
the  mark,  the  deficiency  was  simply  caused  by  not  allowing 
enough  for  labor,  materials,  and  interest  of  money.  The  im 
provements  in  mechanical  science,  and  the  diminution  in  the 
cost  of  materials  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  would,  k 
may  at  least  be  assumed,  make  up  as  large  an  amount  on  the 
other  side ;  and  allowing,  therefore,  for  the  invariable  expe 
rience  which  attends  all  estimates,  there  is  now  no  reason  to 
suppose  that,  under  any  circumstances,  the  cost  could  exceed 
the  total  that  has  been  contemplated.  This  is  somewhat  less 
than  half  the  amount  that  has  been  expended  for  the  Dover 
Railway,  and  about  two-thirds  of  the  expenditure  for  the 
Brighton. 

The  revenue,  which  was  calculated  years  ago  when  the 
original  schemes  were  propounded,  was  taken  upon  900,000 
tons,  and  the  contemplated  toll  per  ton  was  10s.  for  European, 
and  20s.  for  United  States  vessels  ;  the  whole  producing  about 
£600,000  a  year,  which,  after  leaving  two  per  cent,  for  main 
tenance,  and  one  per  cent,  for  sinking  fund,  would  yield  a  re 
turn  of  twelve  per  cent,  on  the  capital. 

An  examination  of  these  estimates,  however,  produces  no 
conviction  of  their  correctness.  All  the  materials  on  which 
they  are  founded  are  extremely  vague  ;  too  much  reliance 
was  placed  on  the  change  of  route  to  India,  and  the  proposed 
difference  in  toil  to  American  vessels  would,  moreover,  never 
be  tolerated.  This  difference  was  suggested  on  the  idea,  that 
as  the  average  saving  of  time  to  United  States  vessels  would  be 
two  months,  and  to  European  vessels  only  one  month,  toll  should 
be  exacted  in  a  proportionate  ratio ;  but  it  would  introduce 
an  entirely  new  principle  into  the  universal  system  of  naviga- 


11 

tion  dues,  and  public  charges  of  all  kinds,  and  one  that  would 
be  found  as  impracticable  as  it  would  be  unjust  and  absurd. 

But  since  these  statements  were  made  in  1835,  the  traffic 
with  South  America  has  greatly  increased,  and  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  have  been  growing  in  importance.  Still,  even 
with  these  changes,  capitalists  would  possibly  have  regarded 
the  experiment  with  hesitation.  At  all  events,  it  would  have 
been  one  of  anxiety.  It  is,  as  we  have  already  observed,  the 
discovery  of  the  gold  mines  in  California  that  has  alone  altered 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  affair,  and  rendered  it  such  as  will  be 
pursued  with  eagerness. 

While  the  Panama  Railway  will  take  the  whole  of  the  pas 
sengers  for  the  western  ports  of  South  America,  the  Nicara 
gua  route  must  command  the  entire  traffic  to  California  the 
moment  it  shall  be  rendered  practicable,  even  by  a  mixture  of 
water  and  land  conveyance.     On  the  completion  of  the  canal, 
it  will  of  course,  in  addition,  monopolize  all  the  shipping  trade 
between  the  two  oceans,  but  some  of  its  most  startling  results 
will  be  witnessed  long  before  that  period.     The  distance  saved 
by  the  Nicaragua  route  in  the  journey  to  California,  as  com 
pared  with  the  Panama,  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  competition  ;  and  apart  from  this,  the  attractive  features  of 
the  former  are  such  as  to  give  it  an  unquestionable  superiority. 
Now,  the  emigration  to  California  from  the  United  States  has 
recently  been  6,000'  or  7,000  persons  each  month,  or  at  the 
rate  of  80,000  per  annum  ;  and  one  peculiar  feature  of  that 
emigration  seems  to  consist  in  the  fact  that,  at  whatever  rate 
it  may  continue,  it  will  always  be  of  a  shifting  kind, — that  is 
to  say,  there  will  always  be  a  tide  of  persons  both  going  and 
returning.     Gold  digging  can  only  be  carried  on   for  about 
five  months  out  of  the  twelve,  and  during  the  idle  season  it 
would  be  far  more  economical  to  return  to  the  States  than  to 


12 

live  at  San  Francisco.     The  operation  itself  is  also  one  which 
men  are  only  disposed  to  pursue  temporarily,  so  that  after  a 
little  while  each  miner  is  content  to  return  and  to  leave  his 
place  to  a  new  comer. '   This  has  been  particularly  exempli 
fied  during  the  past  autumn, — both  the  influx  and  efflux  of 
passengers  having  been  enormous ;  and  that  the  efflux  was 
not  caused  by  persons  who  were  returning  in  disappointment 
has  been  abundantly  shown,  by  the  fact  of  their  reappearance 
in  the  United  States  not  having  led  to  the  slightest  diminution 
in  the  number  of  those  who  were  still  eager  to  emigrate.  Ac 
cording  to  the  last  accounts,  ships  of  a  still  larger  and  finer 
class  than  those  hitherto  employed  were  being  placed  upon 
the  service,  and  every  ticket  in  the  three  lines  of  steamers  had 
been  taken  up  to  May  or  June.     There  is  consequently  ground 
to  calculate  on  a  constant  stream  both  ways.     The  certainty 
of  this  is  indeed  demonstrable.     At  present  the  average  to 
each  miner  is  at  least  five  dollars  per  day  ;  and  supposing  the 
supply  of  gold  to  continue  at  this  rate,  population  must  steadi 
ly  flow  in  until  the  rate  of  wages  for  a  similar  day's  labor, 
after  making  allowance  for  the  expense  of  passage  money,  &c., 
shall  have  been  equalized  throughout  the  world.     Each  mail 
repeats  the  story  that  no  one  in  the  country  doubts  the  supply 
to  be  comparatively  inexhaustible.     By  the  last  advices,  Colo 
nel  Fremont,  moreover  had  discovered,  between  San  Fran 
cisco  and  Monterey,  a  vein  in  the  mountains  which  yielded 
the  extraordinary  proportion  of  one  ounce  of  gold  to  twenty- 
three  pounds  of  rock.     Quicksilver  and  silver  mines  were  also 
waiting  only  for  machinery  and  labor.     Instead  of  a  diminu 
tion  of  activity  in  this  direction,  everything  therefore  indicates 
an  increase. 

However  much  we  may  be  disposed  to  distrust  the  twelve 
per  cent,  estimate  of  those  who  in  former  years  proposed  the 


13 

execution  of  the  work,  we  must  under  these  circumstances 
admit  that  there  can  be  little  fear  of  its  present  results.  We 
must  look  not  only  at  the  traffic  which  is  even  now  before  us, 
but  we  must  take  into  account  its  natural  increase  from  the 
greater  cheapness  and  rapidity  of  the  new  route.  We  must 
also  look  at  the  growing  importance  of  Oregon,  and  to  the 
certainty  of  the  crowd  of  small  steamers  that  will  rapidly  ac 
cumulate  on  the  Pacific,  from  the  smoothness  of  its  waters 
and  the  abundance  of  the  easily  worked  coal  of  Vancouver's 
Island. 

At  the  same  time,  although  the  view  is  thus  bright,  there  is 
no  great  likelihood  that  it  will  attract  any  amount  of  English 
money.  Faith,  the  great  element  of  all  enterprises,  has 
been  destroyed  in  this  country  for  many  years  to  come  ;  and 
not  only  is  there  no  disposition  to  enter  upon  the  scheme 
among  ourselves,  but  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  suppose 
that  others  would  be  equally  timid,  and  to  doubt  if  the  Ameri 
cans  would  or  even  could  carry  it  out  without  "the  aid  of 
British  capital."  Such  has  been  our  step  from  the  sublime  to 
the  ridiculous,  that  we  have  come  to  look  upon  the  expendi 
ture  during  the  next  twelve  years  of  a  sum  of  4,000,0007. 
(which  is  a  little  more  than  half  the  amount  of  the  railway 
calls  for  the  month  of  January,  1847),  upon  the  grandest  pub 
lic  work  that  mankind  has  ever  contemplated,  as  something 
that  is  really  appalling  from  its  temerity,  and  that  is  only  to 
be  carried  out  by  a  congress  of  capitalists  from  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  In  the  United  States,  however,  the  feeling  is 
very  different ;  and  every  year  vast  works  are  quietly  under 
taken  there,  and  carried  to  completion  in  a  way  which  would 
surprise  those  numberless  people  who  are  too  apt  complacent 
ly  to  believe  that  all  the  world  stands  still  except  when  funds 
are  sent  from  London.  They  have  enjoyed  prosperity  since 


14 

1839;  and  although,  of  course,  after  so  long  a  period,  their 
turn  for  a  run  of  madness  must  be  approaching,  there  are  at 
present  no  signs  of  it,  and  no  apprehensions  of  its  arrival  for 
two  or  three  years.  They  are  quite  prepared,  therefore,  to 
look  confidently  at  any  rational  project,  however  broad,  and 
nothing  could  be  presented  to  them  which  would  more  enlist 
their  commercial  aptitudes,  their  hard  energy,  and  practical 
benevolence,  or  their  patriotic  pride.  "  I  would  not  speak  of 
it,"  said  one  of  their  writers,  a  few  years  back,  "  with  sec 
tional,  or  even  national  feeling ;  but  if  Europe  is  indifferent, 
it  would  be  glory  surpassing  the  conquest  of  kingdoms  to 
make  this  greatest  enterprise  ever  attempted  by  human  force, 
entirely  our  own." 

We  may  rely,  therefore,  that  the  day  is  gone  by  when 
the  undertaking  could  be  neglected  for  want  of  funds.  If 
carried  out  entirely  by  capitalists  in  the  United  States,  it  will 
probably  be  pushed  forward  with  less  rapidity  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case ;  but  this  will  be  far  more  than  com 
pensated  by  the  exercise  of  greater  economy  and  certainty. 
Meanwhile,  steps  have  already  been  taken  for  ascertaining 
what  will  be  necessary  to  render  the  route  immediately 
available  for  passengers,  and  for  placing  steamers  upon  the 
river  San  Juan,  and  the  lakes.  The  Chairman  of  the  Com 
pany — a  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  who  it  is  said  has  been  more  largely 
and  profitably  connected  with  steam  navigation  than  any 
other  citizen  of  New  York — started  some  months  back  on  a 
personal  survey  of  the  entire  district;  and,  as  he  and  his 
friends  are  understood  to  be  prepared  to  subscribe  for  a  very 
considerable  proportion  of  the  required  capital,  a  report 
may  be  expected,  in  which,  contrary  to  English  usages,  the 
interests  of  the  stockholder  will  be  consulted  before  those  of 
the  engineer. 


15 

The  precise  course  which  will  be   taken  by  this  canal, 
whenever  it  may  be  completed,  is  still  in  some  parts  uncer 
tain  ;  not  from  any  question  of  great  difficulty,  but  from  the 
fact  of  three  modes  presenting  themselves  for  the  exit  from 
the  lake  to  the  Pacific,  from  which  a  selection  is  to  be  made. 
From  Greytown  (or  San  Juan)  on  the  Atlantic,  the  course  for 
104  miles  is  by  the  river  San  Juan;  the  Lake  of  Nicaragua 
is  then  entered,  and  it  is  the  best  route  from  this  lake  to  the 
Pacific  that  remains  to  be  determined.     The  line  contem 
plated  and  surveyed  by  Mr.  Baily,  was  from  the  south-western 
point  of  the  lake  to  the  port  of  San  Juan  del  Sur,  the  extent  of 
which  would  be  fifteen  miles,  with  an  elevation  to  be  over 
come,  in  one  part,  of  487  feet.     Another  route  which  has 
been  proposed  but  not  surveyed,  is  from  the  same  part  of  the 
lake  to  the  port  of  Las  Salinas,  lying  within  the  boundary 
claimed  by  Costa   Rica,  which   would  be  about   the   same 
length,  but  which  would  not,  it  is  said,  present  a  greater  ele 
vation  than  270  feet ;  and  a  third  proposal  is,  to  proceed  from 
the  northern  part  of  the  lake  by  the  river  Tipitipa,  twenty 
miles  in  length,  to  the  smaller  lake  called  Lake  Leon,  and 
thence  by  a  canal  of  eleven  miles  through  a  district  which  is 
alleged  to  offer  no  greater  rise  than  fifty-one  feet,  to  the  river 
Tosta,  which  communicates  at  eighteen  miles  distance  with 
the  well  known  port  of  Realejo.     At  present,  opinion  seems 
to  tend  toward  the  last  named  course,  as  the  one  that  would 
be  most  advantageous ;  but  it  would  be  idle  with  the  limited 
materials  now  before  us  to  speculate  upon  the  point,  since 
we  shall  soon  be  furnished  with  detailed  statements  prepared 
by  practical  men,  who  have  entered  upon  the  task  of  selec 
tion  with  all  their  interests  enlisted  in  the  matter,  and  with  a 
thorough  perception  of  the  way  in  which  all  views  regarding 
it  must  henceforth  be  adapted  to  meet  most  favourably  the 


16 

altered  circumstances  of  commerce  that  have  arisen  in  con 
nection  with  California.  The  port  either  of  San  Juan  del 
Sur,  or  of  Las  Salinas  would  seem  to  be  in  some  measure  the 
most  desirable,  if  the  trade  with  South  America,  Australia, 
and  New  Zealand,  were  made  the  predominant  consideration; 
but  as  respects  Mexico,  San  Francisco,  Oregon,  Vancouver's 
Island,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  Indian  Seas,  which  will 
be  undoubtedly  by  far  the  most  extensive  region  of  traffic, 
Realejo  is  the  best.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  that  with  this  view. 
a  yet  more  northerly  terminus  may  be  selected,  and  that  in 
preference  to  that  port,  the  line  may  be  made  to  run  into 
the  Gulf  of  Fonseca. 

The  certainty  of  these  two  routes  of  Panama  and  Nicara 
gua  being  speedily  carried  out  in  a  more  or  less  perfect  de 
gree,  places  the  rapid  settlement  of  Central  America  beyond 
all  doubt ;  and  hence  gives  to  all  personal  descriptions  of  the 
country,  such  as  those  which  have  been  furnished  by  Mr. 
Baily  and  Mr.  Byam,  an  interest  that  comes  home  to  our 
daily  business.  Let  the  reader  imagine  what  must  be  the 
effect  even  of  an  annual  transit  of  50,000  or  100,000  adven 
turous^  and  well-informed  people  through  a  strip  of  country 
scarcely  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  broad,  yet  commanding 
the  ocean  intercourse  with  Europe  on  one  side  and  with  Asia 
on  the  other,  favorable  to  health,  and  abounding,  at  the  same 
time,  owing  to  the  inequalities  of  its  surface,  with  every  na 
tural  product  that  can  be  found  distributed  elsewhere,  be 
tween  Scotland  and  the  tropics,  and  an  impressive  idea  of  its 
coming  destiny  will  be  awakened  ;  but  let  the  glance  be  car 
ried  further,  to  the  period  of  the  completion  of  the  canal,  and 
then  let  it  be  remembered  that  within  this  strip  of  land  lie  two 
calm,  yet  deep  and  extensive  lakes,  that  seem,  as  we  look  up 
on  them  in  the  map,  like  huge  natural  docks  in  the  centre  of 


17 

the  world,  intended  to  receive  the  riches  of  a  universal  com 
merce  ;  and  in  the  contemplation  of  what  is  yet  to  be  re 
alized,  the  mind  will  almost  beat  with  impatience  against  the 
slight  barrier  of  time  which  yet  remains  between  us  and  its 
accomplishment. 

That  Central  America  possesses .  inherently  all  the  essen 
tials  to  attract  a  dense  and  vigorous  population,  is  a  fact  that 
has  rarely  been  doubted  by  those  Europeans  or  Americans 
who  have  visited  the  country,  and  all  the  publications  before 
us  tend  to  confirm  it.  The  researches  of  Mr.  Stephens 
showed  that  it  had  been  largely  peopled  by  an  aboriginal  race 
of  a  remarkable'character,  and  the  size  of  its  towns  and  its 
architectural  remains  give  evidence  of  comparative  prosperity 
under  the  old  Spanish  dominion.  Leon,  the  principal  city  of 
Nicaragua,  was  formerly  noted  for  its  opufence,  and  once 
contained  50,000  inhabitants,  who  were  among  the  most 
peaceful  and  industrious  people  in  the  country ;  while  it  has 
now,  it  is  said  by  Mr.  Baily,  not  more  than  one-third  of  that 
number,  and  half  the  place  is  in  ruins.  This  is  simply  Owing 
to  the  wretched  revolutionary  contests  that  have  gone  on 
without  intermission  since  the  declaration  of  independence, 
and  which  are  invariably  got  up  by  a  handful  of  military 
vagabonds,  who  would  be  swept  away  in  the  course  of  four- 
and-twenty  hours,  or  who,  rather,  would  never  dare  to  show 
their  faces  if  a  hundred  Englishmen  or  Americans  were  in 
the  district  to  stimulate  the  well-disposed  to  confidence. 

"  The  fact  is,"  says  Mr.  Byam,  "  that  every  revolution  effected 
in  all  the  republics,  from  Chili  to  Mexico,  is  brought  about  by  such. 
a  mere  fraction  of  the  population,  that  it  seems  a  wonder  to  an 
Englishman  that  the  great  majority  do  not  arise  and  speak  out — 
'  We  wish  to  be  quiet ;  we  do  not  want  revolution  and  murders  ; 
nor  do  we  wish  to  be  subjected  to  forced  contributions  of  money, 
cattle,  and  personal  service  ;  and,  above  all,  we  are  nine  out  of 
2 


18 

ten  in  number  against  your  one ;  and  the  great  majority  will  not 
consent  to  be  plundered  by  the  small  minority,  who  are  only  disso 
lute  ruffians.'  " 

If  the  reign  of  peace  were  established,  (and  even  now  it 
may  be  considered  that  such  is  almost  the  case,  for  after  the 
present  year  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  disturbances  in  Nica 
ragua,)  the  progress  of  the  country,  apart  from  the  effects  of  a 
large  European  immigration,  would  of  itself  be  steady  and 
considerable. 

With  regard  to  health,  the  varied  productions  of  Central 
America  give  the  best  evidence  that  whenever  the  country 
shall  be  opened  up  by  roads  and  steam-boats,  and  all  the  loco 
motive  appliances  of  modern  science,  there  will  be  no  condi 
tion  of  person,  who  may  not,  by  ordinary  attention  to  the 
natural  laws,  enjoy  in  this  territory  all  the  physical  power  of 
which  his  constitution  may  be  capable.  Wherever  it  is  pos 
sible  to  reach  by  a  few  hours'  journey,  districts  iu  which 
wheat,  barley,  and  all  the  ordinary  fruits  and  vegetables  of 
Europe  may  be  grown  in  perfection,  there  can  be  little  fear 
that  anything  will  be  wanting  in  the  way  of  climate  to  insure 
the  preservation  of  bodily  vigour.  Even  in  its  present  state, 
Central  America,  on  the  whole,  has  ho  bad  reputation  regard 
ing  health,  although  the  advantages  offered  by  its  configura 
tion  in  enabling  the  inhabitants  to  vary  their  climate  accord 
ing  to  their  requirements,  might  as  well  not  exist,  since  roads 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  known,  the  best  rate  of  progress 
being  about  twenty  miles  a  day,  and  mule  paths  through  thick 
woods,  without  resting-places  at  night,  being  usually  the  only 
features  of  a  traveller's  track.  Yet,  on  the  banks  of  the  San 
Juan,  and  in  other  parts  of  Nicaragua,  there  are  elevations 
that  would  afford  the  most  beneficial  sites  for  farms  and  resi 
dences  ;  while  in  Costa  Rica,  San  Salvador,  and  indeed  in  all 


19 

the  states,  table  lands  more  or  less  abound,  where  any  condi 
tion  of  climate  may  be  obtained  in  a  few  hours.  In  Guate 
mala  may  be  seen  fields  of  wheat  and  peach-trees,  and  large 
districts  "  resembling  the  finest  part  of  England  on  a  magnifi 
cent  scale."  Valuable  mineral  and  thermal  springs  are  like 
wise  distributed  over  the  various  localities,  and  there  are  other 
adjuncts  of  a  curative  kind,  which  may  possibly  be  found  to 
yield  extensive  results,  and  to  present  even  a  temptation  to 
some  classes  of  invalids.  Amongst  these  is  an  animal  called 
the  manatee,  between  a  quadruped  and  a  fish,  about  ten  feet 
long,  weighing  from  500  to  SOOlbs.,  affording  excellent  food, 
and  possessing  a  medicinal  quality,  apparently  analogous  to 
the  cod-liver  oil,  it  being  alleged  to  be  strikingly  effectual  as  a 
speedy  cure  for  scorbutic  or  scrofulous  disorders.  "  The  blood 
is  said  to  become  purified,  and  the  virulence  of  the  complaint 
thrown  to  the  surface  of  the  body,  quickly  disappears." 

"  Although  Central  America,"  observes  Mr.  Baily,  "  occu 
pies  the  middle  space  between  the  equator  and  the  tropic  of 
Cancer,  consequently  lying  within  the  torrid  zone,  the  tem 
perature  may  be  said  to  be  relatively  mild,  and,  taken  alto 
gether,  it  undoubtedly  is  salubrious ;"  and  this  it  must  be 
remembered  is  the  testimony  of  an  English  officer,  who 
has  resided  in  the  country  from  choice  during  the  best  part 
of  his  life.  The  places  most  prejudicial  to  health  lie  on  the 
northern  coast  and  the  Mosquito  shore,  where  endemic  and 
intermittent  fevers  are  not  unfrequent.  The  Pacific  coast  is 
exposed  to  a  temperature  equally  high  or  nearly  so ;  but  is 
much  more  salubrious,  and  seldom  visited  by  epidemic  or  con 
tagious  diseases. 

In  point  of  natural  riches,  Nicaragua  and  Costa  Rica  have 
usually  been  spoken  of  amongst  the  various  States  as  pos- 


20 

sessing  the  most  abundant  resources,  but  they  all  teem  with 
rewards  for  industry,  such  as  is  almost  unknown  in  any  other 
part  of  the  globe ;  and  upon  a  review  of  the  claims  of  each 
state  in  this  respect,  it  is  hard  to  decide  which  has  the  great 
est  capabilities.     In  the  plain  of  Nicaragua  the  fields  are 
covered  with  high  grass,  studded  with  noble  trees  and  herds 
of  cattle.      Cocoa,  indigo,  rice,    Indian   corn,  bananas,  and 
cotton  are  here  produced,   and  mahogany,  cedar,  and  pine 
abound  in  the  forests.    On  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake  there 
are  cattle  farms  on  which  are  herds  of  from  10,000  to  40,000 
oxen,  bulls,  and  cows.     Horses  and  mules  are  bred  for  riding 
and  for  burden.     Sheep  are  reared  on  the  upper  plains,  and 
swine  are  kept  for  flesh.     A  planter  from  one  of  the  West 
India  islands  stated  as  his  conviction,  in  reference  to  the  dis 
trict  round  Lake  Leon,  that,  provided  he  could  get  the  same 
amount  of  labour,  he  could  manufacture  sugar  at  one-fourth 
its  cost  in  the  West  Indies.     At  present  it  is  sold  in  Nicara 
gua  for  three  half- pence  per  pound.     Leaving  the  lakes,  and 
descending  the  San  Juan,  each  bank  of  the  river  is  covered 
with  valuable  wood,  of*  all  sizes  and  descriptions,  and  the 
land  is  of  prodigious  fertility.     With  regard  to  the  mining 
wealth  of  Nicaragua,  Mr.  Byam  made  some  interesting  ob 
servations,  but  the  miserable  state  of  the  laws,  and  the  spoli 
ations  of  the  government,  prevented  him  from  carrying  on 
the  enterprises  in  connexion   with  it,   to  which   he   might 
otherwise  have  been  tempted.     The  copper  ores  he  met  with 
were  almost  all  uncombined  with  sulphur  or  any  other  sub 
stance  that  requires  calcining  to  be  got  rid  of,  and  they  were 
consequently  such  as  might  be  smelted  in  a  common  blast 
furnace,  with  the  aid  of  equal  quantities  of  iron-stone,  which 
lies  in  abundance  on  the  surface  of  all  the  hilly  country. 
He  found  also  silver  mines,  consisting  of  fine  broad,  but  ra- 


21 

ther  irregular  veins,  the  ore  of  which  was  combined  with  a 
great  quantity  of  sulphur  and  a  large  proportion  of  lead.  For 
the  want  of  a  silver  assaying  apparatus  he  could  not  get  a 
good  assay ;  but  with  the  means  in  his  power  he  could  pro 
duce  about  fifteen  marcs  of  silver  the  ton.  "  The  mineral 
riches  that  are  deposited  in  the  bosom  of  these  mountains/' 
he  adds,  "  are  no  doubt  very  great ;  but  the  working  of  the 
mines  is  so  difficult,  from  the  ignorance  of  the  workmen  who 
have  to  be  taught  everything,  their  invincible  idleness,  and 
the  vacillation  of  the  government,  that  I  believe  it  will  be 
long  before  anybody  will  be  found  to  advance  capital  for  pro 
secuting  such  a  forlorn  undertaking."  This,  however,  was 
written  when  there  seemed  no  gleam  of  hope  for  the  resus 
citation  of  the  country. 

Among  the  numerous  products  which  Mr.  Baily  points 
out  as  offering  temptations  to  the  cultivator,  are  fruits  of  va 
rious  kinds,  indigo,  and  the  mulberry  for  silk- worms.  Fruits 
of  the  country,  it  is  said,  are  sufficiently  plentiful,  as  well  as 
oranges  and  lemons,  which  are  excellent.  Vegetables  and 
garden  produce  are  scarce  about  Leon,  but  they  might  be 
raised  in  all  parts  in  great  perfection ;  but  not  being  con 
sidered  of  so  much  importance  by  the  natives  as  by  foreign 
ers,  they  are  unattended  to.  With  regard  to  indigo,  the  qua- 

• 
lity  already  produced  will  bear  "  an  advantageous  comparison 

with  the  finest  of  any  country  whatever ;"  and  no  part  of 
Central  America  is  better  suited  to  a  more  extended  cultiva 
tion  of  it ;  yet,  with  all  the  advantages  that  are  presented, 
few  efforts  are  made  to  increase  the  annual  growth.  "  The 
cause  of  this  neglect  is  mainly  attributed,  in  recent  years  at 
least,  to  a  diminution  of  capital,  and  possibly,  in  no  small 
degree,  to  an  apathetic  indifference  to  the  future,  consequent 
upon  the  misfortunes  arising  from  a  continued  series  of  inter- 


22 

nal  discords  that  unhappily  have  paralyzed  all  industrial 
pursuits."  Of  the  morus  multicaulis  it  .is  remarked,  '.'  the 
mulberry  for  silk-worms  grows  remarkably  well,  and  the 
climate  appears  to  be  congenial  to  it  in  all  respects.  Hitherto, 
little  or  rather  no  advantage  has  attended  the  cultivation, 
chiefly  from  want  of  attention  and  requisite  experience. 
Were  these  deficiences  supplied,  and  the  business  carried  on 
with  energy  and  skill,  a  large  quantity  of  silk  could  be  pro 
duced.  How  profitable  such  an  article  of  commerce  would 
be  to  proprietors  needs  no  demonstration." 

The  impossibility  of  any  profitable  cultivation  either  of 
these  or  of  any  other  articles,  except  for  home  use,  in  the 
present  state  of  the  country,  will  easily  be  understood  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  rate  of  conveyance  for  merchan 
dise  and  produce  seems  to  be  about  two  or  three  dollars  per 
cwt.  for  every  hundred  miles ;  while  the  possibility  of  trans 
porting  it  even  at  this  charge,  and  at  a  speed  of  about  twelve 
miles  a-day,  depends  upon  the  supply  of  mules  that  may  be 
available.  It  is  likewise  to  be  observed,  that  agricultural 
implements  are  almost  wholly  wanting.  The  plough,  the 
harrow,  the  scythe,  the  sickle  are  not  found  on  the  farm ;  and 
the  hoe,  and  the  machete  are  the  only  substitutes  for  them. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  rearing  of  cattle  is  almost  the 
only  branch  of  occupation  that  is  carried  on  to  any  extent ; 
but  from  the  difficulty  of  transit  to  the  markets,  where  they 
would  be  in  demand,  a  good  bullock  is  only  worth  from  four 
to  six  dollars,  and  abundant  pasturage  yet  remains  unappro 
priated.  "From  a  fertility  of  soil  capable  of  maintaining 
millions,  little  more  is  now  drawn  than  the  sustenance  of 
250,000  inhabitants ;  but,"  Mr.  Baily  truly  observes,  "  when, 
by  increase  of  population,  a  greater  command  of  capital, 
more  intelligence  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  political 


23 

economy,  which  in  process  of  time  will  creep  in,  the  benefi 
cence  of  nature  shall  be  looked  upon  as  incitement  to  indus 
try  ;  and  encouragement  shall  be  given  to  raise  produce  of 
exportable  value  and  general  demand,  Nicaragua  will  be  con 
verted  into  a  region  of  immense  wealth." 

Of  the  other  four  republics  of  Central  America  by  which 
Nicaragua  is  surrounded,  namely,  Costa  Rica,  San  Salvador, 
Guatemala,  and  Honduras,  only  a  few  more  words  are  neces 
sary.  In  Costa  Rica,  as  in  Nicaragua,  the  soil  is  singularly 
productive;  and  all  the  articles  peculiar  to  inter-tropical 
regions  are  grown  in  abundance,  excepting  cochineal,  cotton, 
and  the  vine,  which  are  liable  to  be  destroyed  by  the  period 
ical  rains.  Coffee  is  the  staple  export,  and  as  well  as  indigo, 
tobacco,  and  cocoa,  which  are  also  produced,  is  remarkable 
for  its  quality.  Woods,  drugs,  grain,  fruits,  poultry,  and  a 
variety  of  miscellaneous  articles  likewise  form  part  of  the 
commerce  of  this  little  republic.  Some  gold  mines  exist,  and 
are  at  present  being  worked,  although  without  any  very 
extraordinary  results.  Copper  and  coal  are  likewise  found, 
but  these  of  course  have  been  neglected.  The  population 
amounts  to  100,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  only  10,000  are 
Indians.  The  trade  is  no\y  almost  exclusively  carried  on 
with  England  in  British  bottoms ;  but  the  shipments  taking 
place  on  the  Pacific  side,  the  tedious  route  by  Cape  Horn  is  a 
serious  drawback.  In  1848,  the  exports  consisted  of  150,000 
cwt.  of  coffee,  estimated  at  $6  on  board;  of.  about  10,000  ox 
and  cow  hides;  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  mother-of-pearl, 
Nicaragua-wood  and  sarsaparilla,  and  of  a  small  number  of 
pearls ;  the  total  estimated  value  being  $1,000,000.  San 
Jose,  the  capital,  is  4,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
from  this  a  cart-road  of  seventy-two  miles  forms  the  commu 
nication  with  the  port  of  Punta  Arenas  on  the  Pacific.  The 


24 

great  want  of  this  republic  has  been  a  communication  with 
the  Atlantic,  so  as  to  save  the  long  navigation  by  Cape  Horn, 
and  the  government  are  now  proceeding  vigorously  with  a 
road  of  66  miles  from  San  Jose  to  the  Sarapiqui  river,  which 
runs  into  the  San  Juan,  and  will  thus  furnish  the  opening 
that  is  desired.  Costa  Rica  is  the  only  one  of  the  republics 
of  Central  America  that  for  any  lengthened  period  has  been 
free  .from  anarchy,  and  the  result  is  that  she  is  steadily  ad 
vancing  to  prosperity,  and  that  a  treaty  of  amity,  commerce, 
and  navigation  was  concluded  with  her  by  Great  Britain  on 
the  20th  February  last.  She  has  at  present  a  minister  in 
London,  Senor  Molina,  who  is  understood  to  be  the  writer  of 
a  very  intelligent  pamphlet  on  her  resources,  which  has  lately 
been  published.  By  some  notices  in  the  French  paper,  La 
Presse,  we  also  remark  that  a  considerable  grant  of  land 
has  been  made  to  a  gentleman  in  Paris,  for  the  promotion  of 
colonization  in  a  part  of  the  state  situated  in  the  Gulf  of 
Dulce,  on  the  Pacific. 

The  state  of  Salvador  is  the  smallest  of  the  five  republics, 
but  relatively  the  most  populous,  the  number  of  her  inhabit 
ants  being  280,000,  and  her  natural  resources  and  position 
on  the  Pacific  being  calculated  to  admit  of  the  utmost  pros 
perity.  She  has,  however,  been  incessantly  ravaged  by 
civil  discord ;  and  it  is  only  about  two  months  since  a  large 
body  of  her  people  joined  some  insurgents  in  the  neighbour 
ing  state  of  Guatemala,  with  the  view  of  overturning  the 
government  in  that  country;  while  we  have  also  seen  that 
it  has  just  been  necessary  for  an  English  ship  of  war  to 
blockade  her  ports  in  order  to  exact  restitution  for  a  fraudu 
lent  seizure  of  the  property  of  British  subjects.  The  chief 
production  of  San  Salvador  has  been  indigo ;  but  she  has 
the  highest  capabilities  also  for  tobacco,  cotton,  sugar,  and 


25 

coffee.  The  mineral  workings  have  been  considerable. 
Gold  was  formerly,  and  still  is  extracted  ;  and  rich  silver 
mines,  which  were  once  wrought,  are  known  still  to  be  va 
luable.  "  But  for  many  years  past,  no  one  has  wished  to  be 
thought  rich  enough  to  work  a  mine,  lest  he  should  be  called 
upon  to  pay  exorbitant  contributions  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
state."  Copper  and  lead  exist  in  different  parts  ;  and,  near 
a  town  called  Matapam,  a  very  superior  iron  ore  is  abun 
dantly  obtained,  which,  looking  at  the  price  commanded  by 
all  foreign  iron,  might,  it  is  believed,  be  made  to  yield  very 
profitable  results.  On  that  part  of  the  coast  of  Salvador, 
extending  from  Acajutla  to  Libertad,  is  collected  the  article 
known  in  commerce  as  the  balsam  of  Peru — a  name  it  erro 
neously  received  from  having  been  first  shipped  to  Callao, 
and  thence  transmitted  to  Europe. 

The  state  of  Honduras  has  an  estimated  population  of 
236,000,  and,  although  possessing  excellent  capacities  both 
in  soil  and  climate,  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  a  mining  district. 
It  contains  gold  and  silver  mines,  long  neglected,  owing  to 
the  ruin  and  insecurity  occasioned  by  constant  revolutions. 
Lead  and  copper,  also,  in  various  combinations,  as  well  as 
opals,  emeralds,  asbestos,  and  cinnabar.  An  abundance  of 
timber  and  dye-woods  is  likewise  presented,  and  vast  herds 
of  almost  profitless  cattle  range  over  lands  that  are  other 
wise  unoccupied. 

Guatemala  has  a  population  of  600,000,  and  nearly  all  the 
surface  of  the  state  is  mountainous.  In  point  of  salubrity, 
extent  of  available  lands,  and  quality  of  the  soil  and  climate, 
the  finest  field  for  European  immigration  is  perhaps  to  be 
found  in  this  quarter. 

"  Maize  and  wheat,"  it  is  said,  "  are  abundant,  and  of  superior 


26 

quality ;  rice  is  excellent ;  the  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  are 
good,  and  in  great  variety  ;  and  the  produce  of  leguminous  plants 
is  equal  to  the  best  of  that  grown  elsewhere.  All  European  fruits 
and  garden-stuff  grow  kindly  ;  and  if  the  Indians,  who  are  the  only 
cultivators,  were  better  instructed  in  the  art  of  horticulture,  they 
would  be  carried  to  an  enviable  degree  of  perfection  ;  in  fact,  but 
few  regions  are  so  wrell  endowed  with  the  capabilities  of  producing 
all  that  ministers  to  the  comforts  as  well  as  luxuries  of  life.  Of 
things  more  important  in  a  commercial  view,  cochineal  at  present 
holds  the  first  rank ;  to  which  may  be  added  cacao,  tobacco,  sugar, 
coffee,  silk,  cotton,  wool,  and  a  numerous  list  of  minor  articles." 

In  glancing  at  these  leading  characteristics  of  the  various 
states  of  Central  America,  the  reader  will  speedily  have  ar 
rived  at  the  conclusion  that,  in  the  hands  of  Anglo-Saxon  set 
tlers,  they  would  long  ere  this  have  ranked  amongst  the  most 
beautiful  and  prosperous  portions  of  the  earth.  But  until  now 
there  has  been  work  for  the  race  in  higher  latitudes,  and  it 
will  be  from  the  present  year  that  their  rise  will  date.  The 
nature  and  rapidity  of  that  rise  will,  we  believe,  be  such  as 
has  never  yet  been  witnessed  in  any  analogous  case.  Emi 
gration  from  the  United  Kingdom  has  hitherto  been  confined 
to  swarms  of  the  poor,  going  out  to  fight  the  battle  of  life  in 
untilled  solitudes,  where  they  might  best  enter  upon  it  with 
unburthened  limbs ;  and  although  their  progress  has  been 
wonderful,  and  they  have  caused  cities  and  states  to  rise  up 
as  if  by  magic,  there  have  still  been  rough  elements  in  the 
whole  proceeding  which  have  left  room  for  us  to  contemplate 
the  possibility,  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  of  an 
equally  rapid  progress,  coupled  with  a  far  higher  and  finer 
civilization.  All  separation  of  classes  is  bad,  and  the  true 
system  of  emigration,  where  the  temptations  for  it  exist,  is 
that,  where  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  educated  and  the  un 
educated,  go  together.  But  the  rich  and  intelligent  will  go 
only  from  choice,  and  they  demand  as  inducements  a  brighter 
sky,  a  more  genial  climate,  and  facilities  of  communication. 


27 

New  Zealand,  from  its  possession  of  the  two  first  recommen 
dations,  has  already  attracted  many,  but  its  distance  and  soli 
tariness  are  fatal  objections.  Central  America  promises  to 
fulfil  every  required  condition.  In  a  short  time  the  active 
spirits  from  New  York  and  Boston,  who  are  even  now  infus 
ing  new  life  and  hope  into  Jamaica,  from  merely  calling  at 
that  island  in  their  way,  and  stirring  up  its  inhabitants  to  the 
resources  at  their  feet,  over  which  they  have  hitherto  blindly 
moped,  will  have  displaced  the  spirit  of  anarchy  by  that  of 
enterprise.  There  will  then  be  abundant  work  for  the  labor 
er,  and  temptations  for  all  classes  even  to  the  highest.  The 
merchant  can  seek  no  broader  field  than  one  where  he  can 
deal  with  the  meeting  commerce  of  two  worlds,  together  with 
every  variety  of  teeming  produce  at  his  own  door.  The 
agriculturist,  the  fisherman,  the  miner  and  the  engineer  will 
likewise  find  greater  stimulants  and  rewards  than  can  be  met 
elsewhere.  The  artist  will  be  incited  by  scenery  which  in  its 
condensed  grandeur  and  prolific  beauty  from  the  mountain 
Ysalco  in  Salvador,  which  bWns  incessantly  as  a  natural 
lighthouse  on  the  Pacific,  to  the  frosty  table-lands  of  Guate 
mala,  combines,  like  the  soil  and  the  climate  of  the  country, 
every  feature  that  is  otherwise  only  to  be  witnessed  by  ex 
tended  wanderings.  The  naturalist,  the  geologist,  the  astro 
nomer,  and  the  antiquarian  will  here  also  have  a  new  range ; 
and  the  man  of  so-called  leisure,  who  in  his  way  unites  the 
pursuits  of  all,  will  proportionably  find  the  means  of  univer 
sal  gratification. 

And  in  the  narrow  confines  which  hold  these  advantages 
the  people  of  every  land  and  government  are  destined  to 
meet  on  common  terms.  The  Russian  from  Behring's 
Straits,  the  Chinaman,  the  African  from  Jamaica,  the  New 
Zealand  sailor,  the  Dutchman  from  Java,  and  the  Malay  from 


28 

Singapore  will  mingle  with  the  Mestizoes  and  Indians  of  the 
country,  and  each  contribute  some  peculiar  influence  which 
will  be   controlled   and   tempered   to   the  exaltation  of  the 
whole   by  the  predominant  qualities   of  the  American,  the 
Englishman,  and  the  Spaniard.     Is  it  too  much  to  suppose, 
that  under  these  circumstances,  a  people  may  arise  whose  in 
fluence  upon  human  progress  will  be  of  a  more  harmonious 
and  consequently  of  a  more  powerful  kind  than  has  yet  been 
told  of? — that  starting  at  the  birth  of  free-trade,  and  being 
themselves  indebted  to  a  universal  commerce  for  their  exist 
ence,    they   will   constitute    the    first   community   amongst 
whom  restrictions  will  be   altogether  unknown ;  that  guar 
anteed   in   their   independence    by   Great   Britain   and   the 
United  States,  and  deriving  their  political  aspirations  from  a 
race  amongst  whom  self-government  is  an  instinct,  they  will 
practically  carry  out  the  peace  doctrines  to  which  older  na 
tions  are  only  as  yet  wistfully  approaching ;   that  aided  and 
strengthened  by  the  confiding  presence  of  people  of  every 
creed,  the  spirit  of  Christian  toleration  will  shine  over  all, 
and  win  all  by  the  practical  manifestation  of  its  real  nature ; 
and  finally,  that  the  union  of  freedom,  wisdom  and  toleration 
may  find  its  happiest  results  in  the  code  of  internal  laws  they 
may  adopt,   so   that   amongst   them,  on  the  luxuriant  land 
hitherto  made  desolate  by  the  sole  principle  of  bloody  retalia 
tion,    the    revengeful   taking   of  human  life   may  never   be 
known  ;    and  that  they  may  be  the  first  to  solve  the  problem 
— if  amongst  those  who  profess  Christ's  doctrines  it  can  be 
called  a  problem — of  coupling  the  good  and  reformation  of 
the  offender  with  the  improvement  and  safety  of  society,  and 
the  exercise  towards  both,  not  of  a  sentimental,  but  of  a 
philosophical  and  all-pervading  love. 


